Community Land Trusts in the News 

Articles that offer insight and further the conversation as the CLT movement grows.

Beth Sorce and Kim Graziani, Nonprofit Quarterly
11.09.2022
 
A look into how collaborative efforts from land banks and community land trusts can further racial justice in local communities by offering affordable homeownership opportunities.
 
Ariama C. Long, New York Amsterdam News 
11.03.2022
 
The East New York Community Land Trust is working to take control of their neighborhood through the idea of "greenlining" which will combat the effects of gentrification and "redlining" throughout the city. 
 
Leslie Kern, The Guardian
09.04.2022
 
Gentrification takes many forms, but what is often overlooked is how the visible indicators, such as luxury apartments, expensive coffee shops, and young new residents, come about through local policy and government. Kern argues that focusing on the behind-the-scenes aspects of gentrification and protesting against large development corporations and government policy allowing the development to occur will bring about more change than directing anger towards the visible aspects. Community land trusts are one way to resist gentrification by taking land off the market and out of the potential hands of large developers. 
 
Alex Ramiller, Arthur Acolin, Rebecca J Walter, Ruoniu Wang; Housing Studies
09.01.2022
 
Entering into shared equity housing (SEH) programs such as community land trusts and limited equity housing cooperatives can lead to increased long-term economic and socio-spatial mobility. Residents of SEH programs have a wider variety of options for living when moving out of SEH programs than before they entered into them.
 
Cassim Shepard, Places Journal
July 2022
 
Community land trusts are powerful tools for building and strengthening communities. Shepard goes into the history of the CLT movement and then describes the actions of the Mott-Haven CLT in the South Bronx, NY. With land, comes community power. 
 
Erin Kelly, Landscape Architecture Magazine
07.18.2022
 
This article describes the functions of both conservation land trusts and community land trusts in providing land for the public. Take note that conservation land trusts and community land trusts play very different roles, but are often confused with each other.
 
Closing the Racial Wealth and Debt Gaps: A Multi-Generational Policy Approach 
Tashfia Hasan, The Public Purpose Journal, Vol. XX
Spring 2022
 
Community land trusts are a potential solution to closing the racial wealth gap. This paper analyzes the policy proposals of baby bonds and community land trusts in order to assess the effect on closing the racial wealth and debt gaps. 
 
Rebecca Harvey, Coop News
06.30.2022
 
With space being a rising global issue as people struggle to find affordable housing, many organizations are turning to CLTs to solve this issue. By giving control of the land back to the community, CLTs allow for a wide range of voices to be heard when making decisions regarding housing and land use. 
 
Annette M. Kim; Andrew Eisenlohr, Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, Volume 24, Number 1
2022
 
A look into the collaborative efforts of a land trust and a housing developer to create affordable housing units for the community. This article uses a case study of the Rolland Curtis Gardens in Los Angeles to analyze the effect of combining both forces. 
 
 

Community land trusts play a major role in the proliferation of "new localism," described as "cautious devolution of power to the local level in an attempt to better implement national goals." By giving control of land back to the community, a more stable local economy is created. 

Build It and Let Them Come: NYC's Housing Blueprint Recognizes that Housing Must Not Just Be Built, But Filled
Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News
06.16.2022

Many community land trusts talk about how many housing units they have built, but more important than just building the units is occupying them.  Making sure that communities have access to resources and funds to occupy these units is key to maintaining a successful land trust which directly benefits the people it serves. 

The Theft of the Commons
Eula Biss, The New Yorker
06.08.2022

An overview of the commons of the United Kingdom and how they have diminished over the years. The commons were typically land for farmers to collectively graze, harvest, and work the land. Now, the land is privately owned.

Eigg 25: Celebrations as Island Marks a Quarter of a Century of Community Ownership
John Ross, The Press and Journal
06.07.2022

Eigg, an island in Scotland, is celebrating 25 years of community ownership. In 1997, the island was to be put up for sale, but was bought by the residents of the island thanks to an anonymous donor. Since then, there have been a number of community organizations started on the island. The residents of the island are in charge of their local businesses, homes, and land due to the whole island being owned by the community. 

Business and Collective Action: Learning from the Concept of the Commons
Alexander Frech, Forbes Business Council
06.03.2020

A look into ownership and collective responsibility as seen in the commons. Frech raises questions to be considered in regards to climate change, societal issues, and business models in the future. 

Community Land Trusts Protect Housing Affordability - and Democracy
Deyanira del Rio, The New School Center for New York City Affairs
06.01.2022

A brief overview of the foundation of community land trusts and how they maintain affordable housing as well as democratic participation of the residents. A further look is taken specifically at New York community land trusts and their current initiatives. 

Blue Mountains Tackles Housing Crisis with Australia-first Community Land Trust
Saffron Howden, Blue Mountains Gazette
05.30.2022

Residents of the Blue Mountains in Australia are in the early stages of creating one of the first community land trusts in the country. Many local residents are having issues with housing access as prices rise. An emphasis will be made specifically on providing housing for indigenous women and women who have been victims of domestic violence. 

Congress Exploring Ways to Preserve Affordable Mobile Housing Supply
James Tutten, WFTV 9
05.29.2022

While community land trusts are often thought of as having permanent settlements on them, mobile homes are being approached as a potential new addition to community land trusts. Mobile homeowners often do not own the land under their homes and instead rent the land, much like how community land trusts work. However, rising land prices are making it more difficult to find affordable locations for mobile homes. A community land trust, or at least a program which uses the general ideas of a community land trust, could be a solution to the mobile home housing crisis. 

Housing Justice Leaders Assess How to Build Power for the Long Haul
Steve Dubb, Non Profit Quarterly
05.25.2022

Advocates met in Washington D.C.  to discuss how community land trusts can be used to generate community power, especially for Black communities facing discrimination in the housing industry. 

Airbnb Partners with Georgia Land Trust Organization to Bring Agri-Tourism to Black Farmers 
Atiya Jordan, The Black Enterprise
05.25.2022

New Communities Land Trust, the first land trust in the US, has partnered with Airbnb to create a curated list of stays and experiences in Georgia. This list includes houses, farm tours, and food tastings which are hosted by Black farmers. Find the list on Airbnb.  

Cities Support Community Land Trusts to Protect Affordable  Housing
Alex Brown, The Pew Charitable Trusts
05.25.2022

In order to combat displacement, gentrification, and rising housing prices, many local cities are turning to community land trusts. By keeping land in a community land trust, it stays affordable  for generations to come. 

Earth Matter with Kari Blood: Farms for the Community, By the Community
Kari Blood, Amherst Bulletin
05.23.2022

Grow Food Northampton owns 120 acres of land which is leased to farmers for their own production and sale to local communities. Farmland access is becoming an issue faced by farmers across the country as land prices rise. By providing local farmers with affordable land, it is possible to generate a sustainable, long-term local food system.

Nonprofit Brings a New Kind of Affordable Housing to Door County
Winifred Bird, Washington Island Observer 
01.12.2022

The Of People and Land (OPAL) Community Land Trust is working to provide advice and assistance to the Door County Housing Project. Both OPAL and the Door County organization are located at least partially on islands. Island land trusts are especially important as they provide local, affordable housing for workers in a location which otherwise would necessitate long commutes or higher land prices. 

We Shall Not Be Moved: Collective Ownership Gives Power Back to Black Farmers 
Audrea Lim, Harper's Magazine
06.01.2020

The first community land trust was founded in Albany, Georgia in 1969 and was the largest single track of Black-owned farmland in the United States. Audrea Lim describes the founding of this CLT, New Communities, and how the concept of CLTs spread across the country. Politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have included the CLT model in their policies, and young community organizers have begun to adopt these ideas as well, demonstrating that these communities can be resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crises.

Are Community Land Trusts the answer to Chicago’s Large Lots Program issues?
Daniel Wu, Shareable
12.2.2019

In Chicago, vacant lots are sold to existing property owners for $1.   Residents have transformed many of these lots into community spaces. Once sold, in many cases, residents lose access. Instead of selling off lots, the city could transfer ownership to  CLTs, as Boston did thanks to the organizing efforts of residents of Dudley Neighbors, Inc. CLT. 

Community Land Trusts: Combining Scale and Community Control to Advance Mixed-Income Neighborhoods 
Emily Thaden and Tony Pickett, Case Western Reserve University
10.31.2019

Elizabeth Thaden and Tony Pickett of Grounded Solutions argue that maintaining community control and increasing land holdings of a CLT are compatible objectives and serve to complement each other when appropriately balanced. This is evidenced by three examples. From these examples, the authors derive lessons to guide CLT decision-making. 

Are community land trusts a way out of the system?
Hazel Sheffield, Red Pepper Magazine
10.17.2019

People are taking charge of land and housing across the UK, posing an alternative to the commercial market. Sheffield takes stock of the potential of CLTs to grow into a movement to democratize land use. Democratically governed, CLTs have the unique potential to address the needs of the communities they serve, tackling problems like displacement and dereliction, as well as fueling community economic development and long-term sustainability efforts. Tim Crabtree is quoted: “If we reduce it to the housing, we lose the fact that it’s about finance, land, ownership and democracy as well."

Community Land Trust Movement Imagines its Future
Steve Dubb, Nonprofit Quarterly
10.16.2019

At the 50th Anniversary celebration of the first community land trust: New Communities, Inc., professionals in the CLT movement took stock and identified priorities for the future. 

New Communities Inc. at 50: Thoughts on Identity and a Different Way Forward
Miriam Axel-Lute, Shelterforce
10.11.2019

Civil rights leaders developed and implemented the community land trust model for the first time with the creation of New Communities, Inc. Communities possess the cultural literacy and first-hand understanding to inform appropriate solutions. Democratic governance is a core component of the CLT model.

The Growth of the Global CLT Movement
Nasir Grissom ,Tara Nelson, Katja Majcen, Alix Vadot, Patricia Basile, Priscilla Mayrink, and Felipe Litsek; RioOnWatch 
10.3.2019

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of New Communities Inc., RioOnWatch published a series detailing the history of the CLT movement around the world. The series illustrates how community land trusts have and continue to adapt to address issues specific to the needs and values of the communities they serve.

Why CLTs and city land banks should work together to create permanently affordable housing
Saki Bailey, Shareable
9.25.2019

Land banks allow vacated and abandoned properties to be appropriated by cities. Over 172 exist around the country.  As it stands, there are very few partnerships between land banks and CLTs, but there is a growing awareness that partnerships could optimize land use for community benefit. 

The Problem with CLTs 
Olivia R. Williams, Jacobin Magazine
7.7.2019

Community land trusts often struggle for funding. This tends to result in more professionalized organizations with priorities shaped by the motivation to attract funders, rather than the communities they serve. Here, Olivia R. Williams calls for innovation: sourcing capital from community investors and federal grants (which offer greater autonomy) can prevent mission drift. Democratic control of land in common is a fundamental component of the CLT model; as Williams writes: “advocacy for affordable housing should always be coupled with grassroots movements for community control of land. Somewhere along the road, the CLT movement largely abandoned this vital piece of its legacy.” 

Community Land Trusts are a Model for Reparations
Laura Flanders, Truthout
7.2.2019

An interview with Katherine Franke, author of a new book, Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition; Cathy Albisa, co-founder and executive director of the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative; and Jaritza Geigel, senior organizer for Picture the Homeless, a grassroots organization founded and led by homeless people which advocates for social justice on issues like housing and what they call the shelter-industrial complex. They discuss the potential of CLTs to help restore real wealth to Black Americans. 

Woodland Community Land Trust: An Antidote to Extraction in Rural Appalachia
Eliza Spellman, Agrarian Trust
4.18.2019

“The Woodland Community Land Trust was incorporated in 1979, making it one of the oldest Community Land Trusts (CLTs) established in the United States. Located in the Clearfork Valley of northeastern Tennessee, a low-income Appalachian community dominated by extractive industry and concentrated land holding, economic, and political power, Woodland recently marked its 40th year in operation. Today, Woodland’s vision of community ownership still resounds in possibilities for Appalachian people and confronts the realities of peasant land dispossession throughout U.S. history and worldwide.”

The Dilemmas of Being a Benefactor: Creating a Community Land Trust 
Carolyn North, Foundation for Intentional Community
3.16.2019 

When Carolyn North received an inheritance, she understood that there is a pressing and growing need to protect land from the speculative real estate market and preserve it for communities to use. She had the courage and vision to purchase a farm and work with community members to create a community land trust. This is the story of Commonspace CLT.

Community Land Trusts in the Age of Climate Change
Hortense Leon, Shelterforce
2.8.2019

As both the incidence and the severity of natural disasters increase, the CLT model is proving a powerful tool for climate resilience. The Caño Martín Peña CLT in San Juan, Puerto Rico secured residents of informal settlements the legal right to the land their homes rested on, which would otherwise be vulnerable to grab by opportunistic developers. The Florida Keys CLT is in the process of building affordable housing that would withstand hurricane forces for year-round residents who have lost housing to Hurricane Irma. Further north, SMASH, a Miami-based CLT, is preventing climate gentrification as coastal communities begin to move inward to less affluent communities. By organizing together, these CLTs have secured land access for communities otherwise vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.

Soil in the City: Urban Farming on CLTs
Zoë Ackerman, Nicole Huang, Alice Maggio, and David Morgan, Tufts University
2018

The Urban Farming Institute Community Land Trust is a community land trust designed to hold land for urban farming in Boston. This report details findings from interviews and offers insight and recommendations for governance and management practices that best further the organization’s mission. 

The Story of the Lopez Land Trust
Staff, The Field Guide to a Regenerative Economy
N.D.

In 1989, housing prices were soaring on Lopez Island, WA. Residents Sandy Bishop and Rhea Miller took action. After attending a national conference on CLTs in Burlington, the pair decided the model was ideal. Despite overwhelming pushback, they organized with members of their community and successfully executed their vision for cooperative housing  on CLT land. The trust has since grown to five developments with design informed by systems thinking and sustainability. LCLT’s stated mission is not only to provide affordable housing but also to serve as a model for land stewardship. Its work extends deeply into sustainable agriculture and the rural development of the island. 

An Informal Settlement in Puerto Rico has become the World’s First Favela Community Land Trust
Laura Bachmann, RioOnWatch
4.28.2017

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, public servants, residents, and professionals came together to protect and nurture the informal communities on the banks of the Martin Pena Canal by forming a community land trust. The CLT structure was originally established by civil rights organizers of the New Albany Movement with Schumacher Center co-founder Robert Swann.

Centrally located, the eight communities on the canal formed in the 1930s after a devastating hurricane season pushed rural workers into the city. They built over 5,000 informal homes. Over the course of the century, proper infrastructure or regulation, the city flooded the canal with waste until it stopped flowing.

In 2001, the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers committed to dredge the canal and build a formal sewage system for canal residents. Knowing that this would leave the settlements vulnerable to displacement, the Transportation Authority hosted approximately 700 meetings in which experts listened and responded to community concerns.

Residents decided the CLT model was the best way to protect their communities from dissolving (their top priority). In 2004, San Juan passed a law creating a special planning district for the canal and provided for the incorporation of the CLT. Today Fideicomiso de la Tierra, as it’s known to residents, is successfully addressing permanent preservation and affordability.